For those who travel far and wide there’s nothing to beat the convenience and comfort of a roller camera case. With a roller in tow, instead of a heavy pack on your back or a bag hanging off your shoulder, you’re likely to arrive feeling less fatigued. In this roundup we’ll take a look at a good sampling of roller bags that are especially constructed for photographers.

My friend's 3-year-old opened her beauty shop in her parents' home. First mommy and daddy got their makeup and manicures. Then it was my turn. But who was going to take the pictures? Well, I put the camera in her dad's hands--first time he'd seen it, let alone operate this digital camera. I knew him to be a good photographer, but also knew that untried...

I’ve worked with mirrorless cameras in the past, but never found them quite up to the task. After unpacking the new Samsung NX1 ($1,499, body only) and 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS lens ($1,299) and taking a closer look at the two, I thought, this could be the deal changer. I might finally be ready to trade in my digital SLRs for a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera.

“Understanding the genres, history, and style of the music is a huge part of my success,” John Scarpati observes. “I work very closely with the bands and artists to make sure the cover art reflects what they want to say.” Scarpati (www.scarpati.com), as he prefers to be called (“when someone yells Scarpati on set...

A handheld meter is not just for studio work. Tricky lighting situations, high contrast, and unusual subject tonalities can often pose problems for camera metering systems, as advanced as they are. Beyond that, the camera meter can’t help with studio flash.
The first step toward taking tighter control with a broader range of lighting situations is to use a handheld meter. Enter the new Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478DR (PocketWizard version). Out of the box, it measures incident light. This exposure meter will also prove valuable when working with studio (or any manual) flash or a mix of ambient light and flash.

Handheld exposure meters have grown increasingly complex over the years. At the same time, they are proving even more utilitarian for a wider range of shooting situations. All of this thanks to microprocessor control. I won't go into the long history of their evolution, but suffice to say that today's high-tech marvels are something else entirely. And the new Sekonic...

The biggest news at photokina this year was perhaps the unveiling of Photoshop CS4, advancing this imaging application’s reputation as the leader in its field. But if you’re more interested in using other apps for raw conversion and workflow management alone (with some editing thrown in), then you’ll be happy to learn that there are also new iterations of Bibble, ACDSee Pro, and...

Digital photo frames at photokina were riding the tide of increasing popularity, with wireless technological support in the driver’s seat. Manufacturers are trying to make them more utilitarian, so these digital frames don’t just sit there when not in use. Whatever you say about them, they’re always fashionable, competing with traditional frames for attention, and they make a...

Studio lighting comes in all shapes and sizes, and the lights that are new to photokina certainly support that contention. Our primary focus here is on strobe lighting, but that includes a mix of monolights and power packs (generators), and select flash heads that attach to these generators. If we can see any trend in studio strobes it is the increasing reliance on electronic components and...